E-1 DEVELOPMENT CONFLICTS WITH PALESTINIAN PLANS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 001311 SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA. NSC FOR SHAPIRO/KUMAR E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/30/2024 TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM KPAL KWBG IS SUBJECT: E-1 DEVELOPMENT CONFLICTS WITH PALESTINIAN PLANS REF: A. JERUSALEM 803 ¶B. JERUSALEM 278 ¶C. JERUSALEM 143 ¶D. 08 JERUSALEM 1615 ¶E. 07 JERUSALEM 2131 ¶F. 07 JERUSALEM 2124 Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. PA officials say that development of E-1 and the Ma'ale Adumim "bubble" threatens the contiguity of a future Palestinian state and Palestinians' access to Jerusalem. Palestinians from five Palestinian towns and one East Jerusalem neighborhood bordering E-1 said the GoI has thwarted their plans to accommodate growth, even where planned construction would occur outside E-1. In addition, a Bedouin tribe of roughly 3,000 people face forced displacement from E-1 to make room for planned Israeli development. End Summary. PLANS FOR DEVELOPMENT IN E-1 LINK MA'ALE ADUMIM, JERUSALEM -------------- ¶2. (SBU) E-1 (short for "East One") is a twelve-square-kilometer area east of the Jerusalem municipal boundary and west of the Ma'ale Adumim settlement. The GoI categorizes E-1 as part of the planning area of Ma'ale Adumim and has built a police station there, along with supporting infrastructure (streets, electricity, water) to accommodate additional construction. Plans exist for 3,500 residential units, a commercial center, and hotels. According to the Jerusalem-based NGO Ir Amim, the GoI intends to develop E-1 in order to link Ma'ale Adumim geographically to Jerusalem. Critics claim this will isolate Jerusalem from the West Bank, cutting off Palestinian access to the city. PALESTINIANS CONCERNED THAT E-1 PREJUDGES BORDERS, JERUSALEM -------------- ¶3. (C) The PA has publicly described E-1 as the last remaining link between the West Bank and Jerusalem, which Palestinians expect to become the capital of their future state. E-1 also contains the primary transportation corridor between the southern and northern West Bank. This route became the principal link between Ramallah and Bethlehem after construction of the separation barrier. Palestinian officials have told Poloff they fear Israeli development of E-1 will prejudge negotiations over borders and the permanent status of Jerusalem. Adnan Husseini, the PA Governor of the Jerusalem Governorate, said that including E-1 in the Ma'ale Adumim "bubble" disrupts the contiguity of a Palestinian state and creates a settlement bloc geographically larger than Tel Aviv inside the West Bank. PALESTINIAN TOWNS RESTRICTED BY E-1 -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Israeli plans for E-1 conflict with the growth of one Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem and five West Bank towns. The East Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya and the Palestinian towns of Anata, al-Zayim, Abu Dis, Azariya, and al-Sawahara al-Sharqiya run along the western edge of E-1 (between E-1 and Jerusalem). The only available land for these areas to expand is to the east, towards E-1. The residents of Issawiya require permits from the Jerusalem Municipality to construct new homes. Residents of the five towns must work with the Civil Administration to get permits, because portions of these towns are considered Area C or abut the separation barrier. Existing GoI construction and zoning plans restrict growth to already-built-up areas, so permits for new construction are rarely available, according to Khadir Dibs, head of the Anata Committee for the Defense of Land. Dibs also said some Palestinians have constructed new homes without permits, as existing housing is insufficient for the growing population in these areas. The Jerusalem Municipality and the Civil Administration have demolished homes without permits in some areas. ¶5. (C) Palestinian mayors said that Israeli plans for E-1 leave them no room for growth, commercial development, or agriculture. Hani Asawi, head of the Issawiya Committee for the Defense of Lands, said the Jerusalem Municipality is stalling approval of a new town plan that would expand the residential area of Issawiya, probably because the growth would border E-1. Muhammad Alaan, the mayor of Anata, said that construction of the separation barrier and other barriers infringes on Anata's existing residential zones. Issam Faroun, the mayor of Azariya, and Ibrahim Jaffal, the JERUSALEM 00001311 002 OF 002 mayor of Abu Dis, said that connecting E-1 to Ma'ale Adumim, and constructing the barrier around this &bubble,8 cuts their towns off from any remaining vacant land. DEVELOPMENT OF E-1 THREATENS BEDOUIN COMMUNITIES -------------- --- ¶6. (SBU) The designation of E-1 as state land under the control of the GoI also threatens to displace members of the Jahalin Bedouin tribe, who have lived for decades in scattered communities throughout the area, according to representatives of the Jerusalem-based Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions (ICAHD). The GoI is pursuing a policy of relocating the Jahalin to an area near Abu Dis (outside the Ma'ale Adumim &bubble8) and has already demolished some Bedouin residences in E-1. ICAHD referred to this as a &forced displacement8 of an indigenous people and called on the international community to prevent it. Roughly 3,000 Jahalin live in 31 communities, 23 of which are within the boundaries of the Ma'ale Adumim &bubble.8 WALLES